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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bowl · tear · rash · stick · wake · net · scale · bear

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. bear — the animal
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. tear — to rip
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. rash — a series
  8. scale — size or range
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. net — after costs
  12. rash — hasty
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. tear — from crying
  15. net — in sport
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wake — a trail
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. scale — in music
  24. net — for catching

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com